Rolex Paris Masters: A New Cousin Showdown in Sight? Rinderknech and Vacherot Believe It!

The draw for the Paris Masters 1000 could offer an unprecedented duel between Arthur Rinderknech and Valentin Vacherot. The two cousins, heroes of Shanghai, dream of facing each other again — this time under the Parisian spotlight.

The Rolex Paris Masters draw had its share of surprises, including the potential second-round match between cousins Arthur Rinderknech and Valentin Vacherot. The two men, marked by their final in Shanghai, could face off again, but this time in the den of Paris La Défense Arena.

To secure another 'cousin showdown', Rinderknech will first have to get past a qualifier, while Vacherot will have to take out the No. 14 seed Lehecka. Present at the draw ceremony, they shared their reactions with Marc Maury's microphone.

Rinderknech: "It's a motivation, obviously. We will both have very tough matches. Lehecka is an excellent player. I'll have a special exempt or a qualifier if I'm not mistaken.

So it will be a player who has already played matches here, a player who can come into the tournament in full swing. It won't be easy. It's up to us to do the job."

Vacherot: "I gained a lot of experience in Shanghai, just by playing one tournament. Even in Basel with just one match against Taylor Fritz. Three weeks ago, a match like that was unimaginable for me.

I'm gaining a lot of experience from this match, I'm very happy. In the first round, it will be Lehecka. There are no easy matches or complicated matches. All matches are complicated here. So it will be Lehecka, and I hope it will be Arthur in the second round."